More than 250 post offices have closed across the country over the past decade, with rural communities bearing the brunt. New figures from An Post show 201 of the 257 closures since 2015 were in rural areas. Cork recorded the highest number, with 34 closures, while eight post offices shut in Waterford, a mix of both urban and rural locations.

The figures were released to Sinn Féin TD David Cullinane, who said the trend is worrying. “If you look at the numbers, it is concerning when you see over 250 closures over the last decade. Eight closures in Waterford, consisting of a mixture of urban and rural areas. While Post Office closures have been a particular issue in rural areas, we have seen them close in urban areas also,” he said.

In Waterford, eight post offices have shut over the past decade, including in both rural areas and within the city itself. The most recent closures were in Ann Rinn and Barrack Street, cutting off convenient access to services for those communities.

Deputy Cullinane added that rural closures carry a deeper impact: “If a rural area loses a post office, it is of particular concern for that local community.”

In Bonmahon, Co. Waterford, the closure of the local post office was a major loss, according to local business owner and resident Nicholas Fitzgerald. “The shop is the main thing we miss most here in Bonmahon. When we lost the Post Office, we lost the shop,” he said.

“The government can take a lot of blame for it. They should have realised this was going to happen with post offices. We had nobody fighting to retain post offices when the closure was happening.”

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